Life Cycle Assessment applied to construction and demolition waste treatment: proposal of a Brazilian scenario

Abstract

Important amounts of construction and demolition wastes (CDW) are currently generated in several countries. Considering the correct management of this kind of residue, and the search for its noblest use, several studies have focused on the environmental potential impacts from CDW management. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is often used to investigate the potential environmental impacts over the life cycle of a product, thus becoming an important tool to support decision-making. CDW recycling process produces coarse, fine and mix aggregate as outputs, characterizing a multifunctional process. But, how CDW’s LCA should be run, considering a circular and more sustainable built environment? Thus, the objective of this work is to explore the basic premises in proposing a product system for the CDW recycling process in Brazil. For this, data available in the literature on the recycling process in Brazil and in other countries support the definition of the product system. The complexity of this management option is explored, considering how the use of the recycled materials interfere in the scope, objective, unit function and other modelling choices, as well as reliability of CDW studies. Finally, the datasets provided by Ecoinvent are examined in order to promote debate on data adaptation, followed by remarks on the most appropriate choices on allocation in the CDW LCA. The cut-off system modelling associated with the new perspective on the avoided burden approach is concluded by the authors to be the most suitable for this waste recycling multifunctional processes. Understanding system models is key. When no inventory adaptation is intended, available inventory datasets are more advisable to be used when performing end of life scenarios only, once burdens differ according to countries management scenarios, as well as life cycle inventory approaches.

Construction and Demolition Waste Management Research: A Science Mapping Analysis

“…LCA is beneficial for evaluating the economic and environmental performance of building materials and processes throughout different life cycle stages, including design, construction, operation, and end-of-life. Besides, it is an innovative tool that could be applied to assessing the performance of CDW management by considering the critical aspects that might require improvement actions [84,85]. System dynamics is an empirical tool, and waste management must be studied and analyzed dynamically to avoid misinterpretation in this field area.…”

From Buildings’ End of Life to Aggregate Recycling under a Circular Economic Perspective: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Case Study

“…A standardized and well-established methodology that can support the decisionmaking processes and assessment of the environmental viability of virgin and/or recycled aggregates for this sector is the life cycle assessment (LCA) [7,11,[16][17][18]. There are already existing records of the application of LCA methodology within the international literature when it comes to the environmental impact assessment of the construction and demolition waste management chain [19][20][21].…”

“…There are already existing records of the application of LCA methodology within the international literature when it comes to the environmental impact assessment of the construction and demolition waste management chain [19][20][21]. There are studies that utilize the LCA methodology and framework in order to analyze alternative end of life strategies and/or scenarios of the buildings [18]. Other studies report the environmental impacts and the waste produced via alternative scenarios for the construction of new buildings [22], while both primary and secondary data from varying databases were used [23,24].…”